Pride

Sat, 02/27/2016 - 2:36pm by ballybeg

A marvelously entertaining and uplifting film, Pride (Blu-ray here; DVD here) was released in 2014, but I missed it until a friend recently suggested it to me. You shouldn’t miss this one either, for: the amazing true story, the outstanding acting with a relatively young and unknown cast (notable exceptions would be Bill Nighy and Imelda Staunton who are well-known, seasoned British character actors), the beautiful vocal selections, the hilarious interactions between Welsh villagers and gay activists, a dance number which will have you on your feet, and the ending which will have you cheering.

During the miners’ strike in Great Britain in 1984, which lasted a full year and pushed miners and their families to the edge, a group of lesbian and gay activists in London decided to express their support for the miners by raising much needed funds. They felt a common bond with the oppressed miners against a common adversary: prejudice. (Neither group was overly fond of Margaret Thatcher either.)

Gay liberation had not advanced very far in the early eighties and the miners’ union rejected help from the gay community. But, undeterred, the young and idealistic group took their buckets of money straight to a small village in Wales to give to the miners and their families directly. How they were received there is partly predictable and partly pure magic. Suffice to say that every person involved was changed by encountering the other.

Enjoy the Welsh accents, but I suggest you have on the subtitles so you don't miss a single, hilarious line.

December 1, 1974 ~ Ann Arbor's Biggest Snowfall

Tue, 12/01/2015 - 2:47pm by oldnews

It was 41 years ago on Sunday, December 1, 1974, that the snow started falling, and falling, and falling. By the time the storm stopped on December 2nd, Ann Arbor had recorded it's biggest snowfall since records began in 1880 -- a total of 19.8 inches. Thousands of travelers were stranded throughout Washtenaw County. US 23 was a mess and cars were stuck on all county roads. City, County, Schools and organizations sprang in to action, housing folks, providing bed, blankets and meals for the weary voyagers.

In Ann Arbor, buses were waylaid, the University of Michigan closed and townies handled the storm with typical aplomb , true grit and seasonal humor. The Lopez kids got down to work, the University of Michigan students got arty and cars stayed buried for days.

We went to THE source for weather records, Dennis Kahlbaum, and he provided the up-to-the-minute list of Ann Arbor record snowfalls since 1880:
1) Dec. 1- 2, 1974: 19.8 inches
2) Jan. 26-27, 1967: 17.0 inches
3) Jan. 3- 4, 1999: 15.9 inches
4) Mar. 18-19, 1973: 14.6 inches
5) Jan. 30-31, 2002: 14.5 inches
6) Feb. 1- 2, 2015: 14.1 inches
7) Jan. 25-26, 1978: 13.6 inches
8) Dec. 11-12, 2000: 13.1 inches
9) Jan. 14-15, 1992: 12.5 inches
10) Jan. 1- 2, 2008, 12.3 inches

Check out all the photos and articles on Weather at Old News -- we're always adding more weather-related content.

ArborWiki Blogwarts

Tuesday July 28, 2015: 7:00pm to 8:00pm
Downtown Library: Training Center

ArborWiki Blogwarts

Tuesday July 14, 2015: 7:00pm to 8:00pm
Downtown Library: Training Center

ArborWiki Blogwarts

Wednesday June 24, 2015: 7:00pm to 8:00pm
Downtown Library: Training Center

Ann Arbor ranks in the top 10 of Well-Being Cities study

Wed, 03/27/2013 - 2:20pm by sernabad

Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index conducted a survey between January 2 and December 29 of last year. In the list of Top 10 Metro Areas with Best Overall Well-Being, Ann Arbor was number 8.

And it gets even better. When residents were asked questions about six categories -- Life evaluation, Emotional Health, Work Environment, Physical Health, Healthy Behaviors, and Access to Basic Necessities -- Ann Arbor was #1 (just as it was in 2011) in Life Evaluation (a category that asked participants if they felt they were thriving, struggling, or suffering. Ann Arbor showed improvement over 2011 in their ranking in Basic Access (in 2011, AA was #7; last year, AA was #5).

Ann Arbor lost ground in Emotional Health (in 2011, the score was 13; last year, that number plummeted to 77). There was a dip in perceived Physical Health (2011=12; 2012=21) and Healthy Behavior (2011=36; 2012=54). Area employers may want to pay attention to the change in Ann Arbor's Work Environment score (2011=64; 2012=100).

Two other Michigan cities got good news in this survey.Holland and Grand Haven scored the highest in the Basic Access category.

The complete report can be found here.

Video: Being Homeless In Washtenaw County: A Panel Discussion With The Washtenaw Housing Alliance

Thu, 03/29/2012 - 7:00am by hillary dorwart

Did you know that 2,756 people will experience homelessness within a year in Washtenaw county? 26% are families and 41 people in the county in any given week become homeless. Last February, AADL hosted a panel discussion with the Washtenaw Housing Alliance (WHA). Watch the video of the panel discussion and learn about the innovative partnerships that have been created to address the need and the next steps needed to end homelessness in our community.

Check out our new Research page

Sat, 08/02/2008 - 4:58pm by amy

We've made a few changes to the AADL Research page for better access to our many magazine and research tools. You can browse a new subject listing at the top, quickly scroll through a more detailed ABC listing, or jump right to our most popular magazine database. We'll be featuring a selection of databases in the right-hand column, and from the left-hand menu you can now click on A2 Facts for links to interesting facts and statistics about Tree Town.

Ann Arbor Ranks Fourth in Nation for Racial Disparities in Mortgage Loan Prices

Fri, 08/01/2008 - 1:36pm by Van

The National Community Reinvestment Coalition has released a study on racial disparities in high-cost home mortgage loans from more than 219 metropolitan areas. The report is based on 2006 data from the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. The 2006 data is the latest available data. Here is the press release about the study and the full 64 page report.

Today’s Ann Arbor News reports that “Ann Arbor ranked fourth among metropolitan areas in the United States for the most pronounced racial disparities in home mortgage loan prices."

The methodology of this report may receive more scrutiny than the methodology of the more positive rankings the city has received.